Securing habitats for tigers - and people

Wild tigers, the biggest of all the cats, once roamed vast stretches of Asia, from the Caucasus to South and East Asia. But the tiger population has plummeted by 97 percent over the last 100 years.

Today, only 3,700 to 4,200 wild tigers survive in small pockets of scattered habitat.

Sadly, the twin threats of deforestation and human encroachment—combined with rampant poaching fueled by the tiger trade—threaten the future of the tiger species. Habitat loss has also led to a sharp increase in tiger-human confrontations, as wild tigers have strayed from protected areas into human settlements.